Modern Myths of Self-Assertion

Reimagination of the Gorkha ‘Martial’ Legacy by the Nepalis of Manipur

Abstract

The Nepali settlement in Manipur goes back to 18851. The Nepalis entered Manipur and other parts of the North-East India as the protectors of the North-East Frontiers and were later employed in the infrastructural development of the North-East and rest of the country. The demand for Nepalis as coal colliers in Darjeeling, on tea plantations in Assam and for improving roads in Manipur in the face of Japanese onslaught in the Second World War, are few instances of how Nepali labour was commodified by the colonial forces.